POV, Ian Hylands-style3

Just wanted to give a big thanks to Ian Hylands for taking the time to dig up these images and give us the scoop on how they were made...GET CREATIVE!

From Ian:Going through my images trying to find some good examples of POV shots for this
article last night I came the realization that I've been doing this for a long
time. I first started shooting POV (point of view) bike stuff back in 1998 or 1999...10 years ago.
Unfortunately I don't have immediate access to any of those original images,
however I can tell you that they look very similar to Spomer's first POV images here
on Vital. Back then I used a simple remote shutter cord for triggering the
camera and I taped it to the handlebars to keep it easy to reach while riding.
After that I started thinking of ways to trigger the camera remotely so I cut
the end off my remote shutter release and soldered on an 1/8" mini plug that I
could use with my pocket wizard remotes. (Yes I was using pocket wizards back in
1999, 10 years ago) Then I started putting the camera on other peoples bikes. In
the fall of '99 after a Kranked shoot in Utah I put it on the down tube of a
bike and shot a photo of my Marzocchi Z1 CR with the disc and wheel spinning
blurred and the Red Rock trail leading off into the distance. I think it ran in
Bike Germany.

Digital cameras are quite fragile and expensive, they don't like to be
shaken and bumped a whole lot. So I still shoot film for most of my remote
camera stuff where it's bumpy or there could be some sort of crash. I've been
through a bunch of Nikon D90's and D90x's, but I can pick them up for less than
$250 now so it's not too big a deal. I also use my old Nikon D2X for some stuff,
it's pretty beat already so I'm not too worried about it. You need to make sure
that the camera you want to use has some sort of electric remote shutter release
that you can get a pocket wizard cord for. (or other remote control device but I
recommend the pocket wizards for reliability)

Camera Mounts

I use whatever I can find to attach the camera to the bike. You local pro
camera store should have Manfrotto http://www.manfrotto.com Super Clamps and
Magic Arms and all sorts of other goodies. That's what I started with, and I've
since found that while those options are quite adaptable they are heavy and
don't work as well as they could. Now I make custom mounts from aluminum and
steel cable and whatever else I need to get the job done. Keep in mind that
anything attached to the handlebars will greatly affect the handling of the
bike, it can be dangerous. For my helmet cam my camera weighs 3 lbs, and it's on
one side of the helmet which makes it very hard to hold your head straight. So
the pocket wizard receiver and a couple of lbs of lead weight are on the other
side of the helmet to balance it. Which makes the whole thing really heavy and
awkward, but better that than lopsided. I also have a horseshoe collar to take
some of the weight if needed.

DisclaimerI've been through 3 or 4 cameras and a few fisheye lenses
doing this stuff...things break! More importantly think about the rider, gear
may cost money but it's replaceable. Mounting anything to the handlebars really
affects handling and can result in crashes. Anything that sticks out from the
bike can hit trees, rocks etc. and cause a crash, be careful!